Please Touch Museum

Ready-Set-School is off to a joyful start! This weekend, Please Touch Museum welcomed families for the first Ready-Set-School free community day of the summer, presented by Independence Blue Cross.   Now in its fifth year, Ready-Set-School supports whole-child readiness by helping families build confidence, connection, and community through play-based experiences. This year, families are welcome to join us for three free admission days on June 28, July 26, and August 23.   Guests enjoyed hands-on activities, performances, storytime, STEM demonstrations, wellness resources, and playful learning throughout the Museum — including programming with National Kids Gym, Puppets Pizzazz, Project Joy, local scientist David Buckholtz, and author Dawn Chavous.   Families also connected with community partners offering school-readiness resources, youth programs, arts experiences, movement activities, wellness resources, healthy food, and community services, including LEAP, Caribbean Community in Philadelphia, Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, Fairmount Park Conservancy, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, Elwyn, Vision for Equality, Keystone Mobile Wellness Unit, and Vetri Community Partnership.   We’re also grateful to the volunteers who helped make the day possible, including groups from the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia Youth Diplomats, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and WePAC.   Thank you to Independence Blue Cross for helping make Ready-Set-School possible and for supporting playful learning, health, and wellness for families across the Philadelphia region.

What a weekend! On June 20 & 21, Please Touch Museum welcomed over 5,700 visitors for our free Community Days presented by Temple University. Thanks to Temple University’s generous sponsorship, families were able to enjoy two full days of free admission to the Museum — exploring, playing, learning, and making memories together. Families were welcomed with giveaways, capes, and photo opportunities that added to the excitement of the weekend. We are grateful to Temple University for partnering with us to broaden access to playful learning experiences for families across the Philadelphia region and beyond.

Congratulations to Catherine M. Cahill and the entire team at Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts on the remarkable renovation and for your commitment to musical artistry, community educational endeavors, and performing arts for 50 years! We were delighted to celebrate this milestone achievement with you and look forward to many more years of Centennial District programming in Fairmount Park along side you!

Congratulations to our Centennial District neighbors at Philadelphia Zoo and CEO Dr. Jo-Elle Mogerman on the opening of Carey Bear Country!   This $20 million project is the Zoo’s largest new exhibit in more than a decade, featuring reimagined habitats for Andean and sloth bears, expanded space for animal care and conservation, and new opportunities for guests to learn about these endangered species.   We’re excited to celebrate this investment in conservation, education, and family experiences right here in Fairmount Park.

More than 3,000 visitors joined us on Saturday for Book Faire Day at Please Touch Museum — a free community day that celebrated  reading, imagination, and learning through play, sponsored by Way Past Books. Together, families selected more than 5,000 gently used books provided by BookSmiles while enjoying storytimes, performances, hands-on activities, and literacy experiences throughout the Museum. We’re incredibly grateful to presenting sponsor Way Past Books and author Hallee Adelman for helping make this event possible, along with supporting sponsor TD as well as Larry Abrams from BookSmiles as an integral partner for this new event at the Museum. Thank you as well to our many community partners and performers, including the Free Library of Philadelphia, Read to Succeed, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, students from CAPA, students from Moore College of Art and Design, Noggin Hill, and My Mother Once Read, for helping create such a joyful day for families across our region. A special thank you to our Museum staff and the many volunteers who helped bring the day to life. This event would not have been possible without their dedication to delivering on the Museum’s mission. We’re especially grateful to volunteers from Idealist, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Global Citizen, West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC), the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia Youth Diplomats, Campus Apartments, and Bank of America for supporting families and activities throughout the day. And of course, thank you to every family who joined us to celebrate stories, creativity, and the power of learning through play. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eEaq8Azf

After nearly a decade of planning and fundraising, Please Touch Museum has completed a $4.2M restoration of the historic marble floors inside Memorial Hall, a building that first welcomed the world during the 1876 Centennial Exposition. We recently had the opportunity to gather with donors and project partners inside the space to mark this milestone — a chance to reflect on what it took to get here and the care that went into preserving this historic building for the future. The original 150-year-old floors had reached a point where repairs were no longer enough. Today, they’ve been carefully replaced with marble sourced to match the original design, preserving the integrity of the space while ensuring it can withstand millions of little feet for years to come. And in a full-circle moment, pieces of that original marble are finding new life across Philadelphia, ensuring a piece of this history will continue to live on in the city in unexpected ways. As we look ahead to Please Touch Museum’s 50th birthday, Memorial Hall’s 150th anniversary, and the nation’s 250th, we’re proud to steward this landmark so it can continue to inspire curiosity, creativity, and learning through play for generations to come. Read more via WHYY: https://lnkd.in/efMvEgd9 Thank you to our donors and partners who made this work possible, and to Peter Crimmins for joining us and for the thoughtful reporting.

Earth Day at Please Touch Museum was a day full of curiosity, creativity, and hands-on learning! Families explored big environmental ideas in small, meaningful ways — designing water filters, learning about watersheds, and creating art from recycled materials. It’s all part of how we help children understand their role in caring for the world around them through play. We’re grateful to Essential Utilities, Inc. for supporting this work and helping bring these experiences to life.

We’re honored to share that Please Touch Museum has been awarded a three-year grant from the William Penn Foundation in support of our participation in the ACCESS Program administered by Art-Reach. Please Touch Museum is one of six Philadelphia cultural institutions recognized for welcoming ACCESS visitors — families who receive reduced admission through SNAP, Medicaid, and other qualifying programs. Since 2014, Please Touch Museum has welcomed more visitors through the Art-Reach ACCESS program than any other cultural institution in the region. For many children, a visit to the Museum is their first cultural experience. Ensuring that families can access joyful, hands-on learning opportunities during the most critical years of early childhood development is central to our mission. We’re deeply grateful for this investment in access and affordability for Philadelphia’s youngest learners. 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/e-WTmm49

At Please Touch Museum, exhibits are designed to blend play, creativity, and learning. In Shaun the Sheep™: Flock This Way! (open now through May 10), children explore the world of Aardman's popular claymation characters through hands-on activities that invite them to climb, balance, build, pretend, and solve problems. As they move through the exhibit, they practice playful problem-solving skills like coordination, planning, collaboration, and creative thinking. Whether they’re working together to complete a challenge, experimenting with movement and balance, or bringing characters to life through imaginative play, children are building critical cognitive skills such as symbolic thinking, creative expression, and abstract thought. Thanks to 6abc WPVI-TV Philadelphia for stopping by to explore the exhibit! https://lnkd.in/ejKifxzF

We’re honored to be nominated for USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Award for Best Children’s Museum in the country!   This recognition reflects our mission to help children learn and grow through play — and the families, educators, and partners who bring that mission to life every day.   The title of “Best Children’s Museum” is decided by readers’ choice voting, and the contest is open through February 9.   If Please Touch Museum has made an impact on you or your family, we’d be grateful for your vote: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e-8pFBtX